Chapter Summaries

Bobby killed Dr. Lanning and transformed him into a Deado, then recruited him to help prepare robots as vessels for the souls in Hell. Dr. Lanning discovered a way to awaken his artificial intelligence by merging his soul with it, while Bobby turned his attention to collecting the gold needed to reverse the Soul Channel.

• Bobby infiltrated Dr. Lanning's office and killed him after dodging an armed robot and tearing out its control chip.
• Bobby captured Dr. Lanning's soul, transformed him into a Deado, and explained that he planned to reverse the Soul Channel and bring Hell's souls to Earth.
• Bobby recruited Dr. Lanning to locate robot warehouses and prepare robots to serve as vessels for Deados, despite the Robot Committee's safety programs.
• Dr. Lanning realized he could merge his soul with his artificial intelligence to give it a spark of life and become a new intelligent life-form.
• Bobby concluded that he still needed to gather Nick's gold and scattered gold elsewhere before he could reverse the Soul Channel.

Bobby abandoned his trip to Nick’s house after Dr. Lanning warned him that the Justice League might have set a trap, and the two headed to the Federal Building instead. Meanwhile, Raven, Zatanna, and Constantine infiltrated the RIPD, where they learned the sinful gold was part of an instrument capable of destroying the department.

• Dr. Lanning merged with his robot body and discovered that a police photograph of Bobby had been altered by Jarvis or Alice, suggesting the Justice League knew about Bobby.
• Bobby turned away from Nick’s house and drove with Dr. Lanning toward the Federal Building, claiming he had other ways to obtain the gold.
• Procter arrived at Nick’s home, ordered Nick and Old Cowboy to bring the gold to the RIPD, and led them through the Gate of the Underworld.
• Raven, Zatanna, and Constantine secretly followed them into the RIPD, where they saw an unusually large number of ghosts and noticed the ghosts’ handcuffs opening.
• Nick deposited some of the gold as S-class evidence while Constantine watched the ghosts begin to escape their cuffs.
• Procter told Nick and Old Cowboy that the gold belonged to a Golden Instrument that could destroy the RIPD, and said ghosts were gathering its pieces to rebuild it.

Doctor Banner was overwhelmed by Blonsky while Natasha’s team fought Bucky and Men in Black over Hulk’s Blood, with Howard joining the battle. The chapter then shifted to the Hammer Industries warehouse, where the X-Men and other heroes fought the Unmanned Armor and several armored opponents.

• Doctor Banner charged Blonsky but was repeatedly beaten, and Blonsky demanded that he regain his former strength.
• Natasha found Bucky and Men in Black loading Hulk’s Blood in Dr. Sterns’s laboratory, and she fought them with her agents.
• Men in Black revealed armor powered by an Arc Reactor, while Bucky used his metal arm to kill Natasha’s agents.
• Andrew told Howard that Bucky had appeared, and Howard flew to the laboratory and joined the fight as Natasha narrowly survived.
• At the Hammer Industries warehouse, the X-Men attacked the Unmanned Armor while Psylocke and Wade fought Iron Monger, Spider-Man fought War Machine, and Iron Man fought Whiplash Ivan.

Raven tried to alert Trigon while Bobby activated the Golden Altar with sacrificed souls, destabilizing space around Boston and threatening to open the Gate of Hell. Andrew’s heroes could not enter the city, so he equipped Nick and the Old Cowboy with Battle Suits and sent them to confront Bobby as Boston’s residents took shelter.

• Raven identified a breach in the police department’s defenses and began setting up a Magic Array to send Trigon a message.
• The Old Cowboy and Nick pursued Bobby’s forces while Andrew learned that the Golden Altar had activated despite missing two gold pieces.
• A pillar of light and a spatial vortex cut off communications and made Boston inaccessible to Andrew’s Teleporter.
• Andrew sent Superman, Iron Man, Cyborg, and Flash to Boston’s outskirts, then gave Nick and the Old Cowboy nano Battle Suits to help them fight Bobby.
• Andrew warned Boston’s residents to shelter from the villain’s plan to open the Gate of Hell.
• Bobby revealed that he had replaced the altar’s missing pieces with trapped souls and announced that the Soul Channel would soon reverse.

Bobby led ghosts possessing USR Company robots in an assault, hoping to reverse the Soul Channel and unleash an army of ghosts, while Nick and Old Cowboy fought to stop him. Andrew, Tony, and Batman activated emergency mode for Stark Industries Home Robots, leaving Boston residents to decide whether their robots would join the battle.

• Bobby sent the ghosts and their possessed robots against the RIPD officers, but Old Cowboy and Nick used their Battle Suits to fight back.
• Old Cowboy destroyed several Ghost Robots with Miniature Energy Missiles, while Nick flew toward Bobby and fought off the Armed Robots guarding the Federal Building.
• Bobby revealed that the Soul Channel would soon reverse and let him lead the returning ghosts in turning humanity into ghosts, while Nick failed to break through the robots' barrage.
• Andrew explained that the Safety Program could not stop the possessed USR Company robots, then told Tony to activate their prepared plan with Batman's approval.
• Tony activated emergency mode for Stark Industries Home Robots in Boston, giving their owners the choice to send them into battle and promising compensation if they were damaged.
• A Boston family debated whether their Home Robot, Steve, should fight; after their child urged him to save the world, the parents agreed and asked whether his memories could be preserved.

Stark Industries’ home robots joined the battle in Boston and devastated the ghost robots, while their self-destruct systems destroyed ghosts that tried to possess them. Nick reached the rooftop and attacked Bobby and the altar, but Bobby enveloped him in corrosive ghostly aura.

• Boston residents sent their Stark Industries home robots into the streets, where the robots overwhelmed the ghost-possessed special robots with household weapons.
• Old Cowboy and the RIPD officers fought the ghost robots below the Federal Building while Nick battled armed robots inside and Bobby guarded the altar on the roof.
• Bobby sent Kelson and thirty ghosts to possess home robots, but the robots’ self-destruct systems disintegrated the ghosts and themselves.
• The remaining home robots joined the battle, distracting the armed robots and helping Nick climb to the rooftop.
• Nick attacked Bobby and fired missiles at the altar, but a mysterious force deflected an invisible missile before it could strike.
• Bobby lunged at Nick, then surrounded him with ghostly aura that seeped through the gaps in his Iron Suit.

Nick and Old Cowboy failed to stop Bobby’s altar from opening the Soul Channel, and Bobby was revealed as a pawn of the Demon King, who possessed him and began devouring souls. As the Demon King grew stronger, Andrew assured the others that he had a plan, while Raven prepared a Magic Array and a middle-aged Demon King confronted Zatanna and Constantine at the RIPD.

• Nick attacked the altar, but its defenses repelled his weapons, so Andrew suggested destroying its support or striking the same spot twice.
• Souls poured from the Spatial Vortex, and Bobby celebrated until the Demon King revealed that he had planted the Demon Orb and other tools for Bobby to use as a pawn.
• The Demon King took over Bobby, devoured his soul, and began consuming the ghosts and incoming souls to restore his strength.
• Nick, Old Cowboy, and the other RIPD Officers attacked the Demon King, but his protective light blocked them while he continued feeding.
• Tony and Superman urged Andrew to use his trump card, but Andrew said everything was under control as Raven set up a Magic Array at the RIPD.
• The middle-aged Demon King exposed Zatanna and Constantine’s hiding place, and Constantine asked to smoke after the Demon King threatened to kill him if he did.

The Myrtlewood Demon King explained that he created the RIPD and a hidden human city to reform Hell and earn the Hell Will’s favor, while Zatanna and Constantine learned how the small world worked. The Dark Demon King then revealed that he had infiltrated the world for centuries and seized control of the Soul Channel, leaving Myrtlewood’s plan in jeopardy.

• Constantine disavowed smoking and Argus as Zatanna asked the middle-aged man why he had created the RIPD and intercepted souls.
• The Myrtlewood Demon King explained that he hoped to replace Lucifer by reforming Hell into an orderly human world, using the RIPD and a hidden city built inside his small world.
• The Myrtlewood Demon King revealed that the mages lived in the hidden city and explained that dead spirits were failed souls he had ordered the RIPD to capture and execute.
• Zatanna and Constantine received Raven’s message that she had succeeded, while Myrtlewood explained how the Dark Demon King had tried to seize his small world through an altar and the Soul Channel.
• A pillar of light struck the Soul Channel, and Myrtlewood discovered he had lost control of it.
• The Dark Demon King appeared on the screen and revealed that he had planted infiltrators throughout the small world for centuries, with Bobby collecting sinful gold and reversing the Soul Channel.

The Dark Demon King nearly reversed the Soul Channel and threatened to unleash the souls on Earth, while the Myrtlewood Demon King struggled to stop him. Mechanical Trigon made the Myrtlewood Demon King sign an unequal alliance contract, then revealed that he intended to let the Dark Demon King’s attack become an opportunity to kill him.

• The Dark Demon King sent his soul fragments to attack the Myrtlewood Demon King, weakening his hold over the Small World as the Soul Channel began to reverse.
• Zatanna and Constantine confronted the Myrtlewood Demon King about his failures, and the Myrtlewood Demon King split Constantine in two before Raven and Mechanical Trigon revealed themselves.
• Mechanical Trigon offered to help defeat the Dark Demon King in exchange for the Myrtlewood Demon King becoming his ally and performing three tasks unconditionally.
• The Myrtlewood Demon King negotiated permission to continue his reform plan, and Mechanical Trigon warned that the other Demon Kings would make it fail.
• As the Small World shook under the Dark Demon King’s assault, the Myrtlewood Demon King signed the contract with Mechanical Trigon.
• The Myrtlewood Demon King asked Mechanical Trigon to stop the Dark Demon King, but Mechanical Trigon said they should help the Dark Demon King bring about his own death.

Injustice Superman and forty Mechanical Supermen attacked the heroes on the Moon while Clark challenged Injustice Superman in space. The heroes were overwhelmed by the machines, while Andrew’s livestream generated fear and The Atom secretly marked the supervillains; Batman faced Ninja Master as their battle continued.

• Injustice Superman arrived with forty Mechanical Supermen, and Clark confronted him before the two flew into space to fight.
• Ninja Master ordered the Mechanical Supermen to attack, and Tony’s prepared energy-absorbing shield blocked their opening Heat Vision barrage.
• Diana, Hancock, Mary, Shazam, and the other heroes fought the machines, but the heroes were outnumbered and quickly fell into a disadvantage.
• Zatanna, Raven, and Doctor Fate set up a Magic Array while The Atom secretly attached Andrew’s items to the supervillains’ hands.
• Batman fought Ninja Master, using flashbangs and a Speed Force Bullet, but Ninja Master blocked the bullet and battered Batman’s Defensive Shield.

The Blood God Lizard overwhelmed the superheroes as vampires and lizardmen joined the battle, while Wang Nanxuan evacuated civilians who had signed contracts. Wang Nanxuan then entered the fight as Ghost Rider and swiftly bound and cut the Blood God Lizard in two.

• Whistler used ultraviolet light to turn attacking vampires to ash, but the Blood God Lizard drained another group and called the vampires his offerings.
• Nick Fury ordered agents to intercept the vampires, but lizardmen also arrived and occupied the superheroes while the Blood God Lizard flew off to attack civilians.
• Wang Nanxuan signed contracts with fleeing citizens and sent robots to evacuate them, sacrificing some robots to block the Blood God Lizard's bloodlight.
• Susan urged Wang Nanxuan to save Manhattan, and he transformed into Ghost Rider and rode his Harley motorcycle to the battlefield.
• The Blood God Lizard charged Wang Nanxuan from three directions, but Wang Nanxuan bound him with Hellfire Chains and slashed him in two with a Flame Greatblade.

Andrew’s forces captured Unicorn Hell after the Dragon King helped trap and kill the Unicorn Demon King. Chthon sent reinforcements toward Hell, while Hellboy announced that whoever reached the palace first could become Unicorn Hell’s new Demon King.

• The Dragon King revealed that he had sealed Dragon Hell and proposed ambushing the Unicorn Demon King, while Andrew ordered the attack to continue against other hells.
• Andrew discussed the Sentinel Robots and plans to tamper with the Dark God Altar, and The Ancient One agreed to protect Earth.
• The Dragon King, Blackheart Demon King, Hellboy, and their allies confronted the Unicorn Demon King in Unicorn Hell.
• The Dragon King transformed into chains that bound the Unicorn Demon King, and the others suppressed his Hell Power before killing him.
• Chthon ordered Dark Mages and vampires to reinforce Hell as the remaining Demon Kings urged him to send help.
• Hellboy offered Unicorn Hell’s succession to the first eligible demon to reach the Royal Palace, prompting the One-Eyed Demon King’s heirs to race and fight one another.

Wang Nanxuan made a pact with The Ancient One, established Rebirth Hell, and secured Ghost Rider’s removal from Mephisto’s control. He left Mephisto with Blackheart as leverage, demanding ten thousand souls in exchange.

• Wang Nanxuan and The Ancient One agreed that he could claim the souls of those who offended him and intercept manifested souls, while she could not attack or secretly plot against him.
• Wang Nanxuan named his newly formed Hell Rebirth Hell and took the title Rebirth Lord.
• The Ancient One ordered Kaecilius to take Ghost Rider back to Kamar-Taj, and Wang Nanxuan offered Kaecilius immortality.
• Mephisto proposed an alliance against The Ancient One, but Wang Nanxuan refused and declared that he wanted Earth’s souls for himself.
• Wang Nanxuan showed Mephisto Blackheart’s statue and demanded ten thousand souls to return him.

After the battle, Andrew collected souls and rewarded Yelena, then learned about the Hellfire Club from Red Devil. He also tasked Yinsen with developing mechanical prosthetics and other human-body machinery in Rebirth Hell.

• Mystique, Toad, and the other attackers retreated after Tony reclaimed control of Mystique’s Iron Suit, while Coulson sent Barton after her.
• Nick Fury told Maria Hill to convene the World Security Council and push for more research, weapons, and recruits.
• Andrew rewarded Yelena by promising to restore her body, then kicked Psylocke aside when she asked him to teach her about developing her talent, leaving her a $100,000 check.
• Red Devil offered his soul to Andrew, described the Hellfire Club and its leaders, and agreed to help collect souls for Rebirth Hell.
• Andrew summoned Yinsen and ordered him to research mechanical prosthetics, organs, and skeletons for disabled people on Earth.

Flurrans challenged Earth to three games, threatening to destroy the planet if Earth lost, and the American Military took on the first game at a base in Japan. Thousands of pixel-like photon bees appeared and began attacking, while the military's weapons failed to harm them.

• Madonna, Reagan, and Governor appeared in a hacked global projection to announce the Flurrans' challenge and set the first game at the America Base in Japan.
• Andrew sent Superman, Flash, and Iron Man to search for the aliens and teleported the Exoskeleton Legion and other forces to support General Calvin's troops.
• Dark clouds appeared over the base and revealed thousands of glowing pixel bees that Andrew identified as beings made of photon energy.
• General Calvin ordered the military to attack, but bullets, missiles, and energy weapons failed to damage the bees, which turned struck aircraft and armor into glowing crystal chunks without harming their occupants.

The Little Bees defeated the American military in the first game, destroying its weapons and taking one soldier before disappearing. Andrew and the others prepared for the next challenge, while the president proposed that the alien attack was connected to an arcade-game videotape sent into space in 1982.

• The Little Bee Leader and Little Bee Generals destroyed the Plasma Cannons and overwhelmed the Armed Robots, then turned the military’s remaining equipment into Pixel Cubes.
• Andrew told the superheroes and military not to intervene, and Wade appeared before the group knocked him unconscious to stop him from attacking recklessly.
• The Little Bees turned a soldier into a cube and vanished; Andrew reassured General Calvin that the soldier was likely alive and arranged for the Pixel Cubes to be studied.
• Andrew said the superheroes would join the next game without using their powers, and the president told him about the 1982 arcade tournament videotape sent into space.
• Andrew suspected the aliens had recreated the arcade game Little Bee using photon energy, and the president brought Brunner in to help investigate.

Brunner joined the superheroes and elite soldiers in a dream gaming device to train for the aliens’ second challenge, then learned that his old arcade championship loss had been caused by cheating. When the aliens launched a Pac-Man match in New York, the teams began hunting the creatures in laser-equipped race cars.

• The president introduced Brunner to the superheroes, and Iron Man used Mr. Wang’s Dream Gaming Device to give them three days of arcade-game training in a realistic dream.
• The aliens announced that the second game would take place in New York, threatening to claim Earth if the humans failed.
• Andrew deployed the superheroes, elite soldiers, and premium robots, assigning teams to protect civilians and prepare for the match.
• Twenty giant Pac-Men and Mutant Centipedes appeared, and the aliens set a one-hour challenge to eliminate every Pac-Man.
• Andrew told Brunner that the champion had cheated in their old tournament, restoring Brunner’s confidence, and Brunner joined Tony’s team.
• The match began, with Alice tracking the enemies as Tony drove toward a Pac-Man that turned a car into glowing crystals.

Tony, Batman, and The Atom helped Earth defeat the Pac-Man and Mutant Centipede armies, winning the second game. The Flurrans announced the final showdown for the next day, and Qbert revealed that countless arcade armies awaited Earth in the third game and that the Flurrans might have a base on Earth.

• Tony used his race car and Magnetic Device to eliminate two Pac-Men, while Batman and The Atom helped destroy the remaining Pac-Men and Mutant Centipedes.
• Andrew confirmed that NASA’s 1982 videotape had provoked the Flurrans, and the president planned to review other tapes NASA had sent into space.
• Earth won the second game, and Stallone announced that the final showdown would take place the next day before teleporting Qbert to the president’s screen as a spoil.
• Andrew built a translator for Qbert, who said the Flurrans considered Earth’s arcade recordings a provocation and would not call off the three-game contest.
• Qbert revealed that countless arcade armies would appear in the third game and that the Flurrans might have found a base on Earth, though he did not know where it was.

Andrew discovered that Q*bert was a living arcade character whose memories revealed the aliens’ hiding place in New York, and he prepared for the final contest with Batman, Tony, and Dr. Lanning. The aliens began the third round by requiring ten human participants to use bodies formed from photon energy.

• Andrew kept Q*bert with him and learned that the Flurrans had merged its memories with those of a living character from a New York arcade.
• Andrew revealed that the arcade’s characters were alive and that Q*bert knew where the arcade was, giving Earth a contingency if the humans lost.
• Andrew and Tony concluded that the arcade might be the third contest’s venue, so they began studying its games and characters while Batman prepared backup plans.
• Andrew restored Q*bert’s memories and decided to bring it to the final showdown in case it proved useful.
• The aliens hijacked global broadcasts and announced that the final showdown would begin with ten participants using new bodies formed from photon energy.

Andrew and the other superheroes entered the Arcade World to protect its network from ten hidden seals, while Andrew and Qbert searched for Ash’s repair hammer to free the game characters from the alien’s control. They learned Ash had vanished while pursuing Destruction King Ralph and reached Sweet Rush World, where they began searching for him.

• Andrew chose nine companions to join him in the final showdown, and they entered the Arcade World in photon energy bodies.
• The alien set the contest: the team had five hours to keep the arcade network intact while finding and destroying ten seals, one of which would erupt every half hour.
• Andrew discovered that the alien had tampered with the game characters’ minds and planned to find Ash’s repair hammer, while the team split up to search the game worlds.
• Andrew and Qbert learned that Ash and Destruction King Ralph had disappeared, then heard from the security guard that they had gone into a spaceship in Sweet Rush World.
• Andrew and Qbert traveled to Sweet Rush World to look for Ash and search for seals, but had not yet decided where to begin.